Paros Island

Paros Travel Blog

And so onto Paros, our third and final island before a return to Santorini and our flight home. We would have liked a little more time in Naxos but such is life where two weeks holidays are the maximum you can take. The joys of growing up! We packed up and waved goodbye to our luxurious room for the very short ferry hop to Paros, once again on a pristine Blue Star boat that was packed without being cramped.

In no time at all we were pulling in, so to speak, to Paros, and our first view of the island was another positive one, as sandy beaches and glorious sunshine were in plentiful supply.

The harbour was simply crazy, with thousands of people either coming and going and being flanked on all sides by tour operators, touts, traders and the kitchen sink. On this occasion we were staying in a camp-site, as this one in particular had a good website that promised English speaking reception, cheap wooden huts, decent food options and being 100 feet from the beach. Sure enough, the busy reception had great English, among with every other European language, as it became clear that this campsite was host to every nationality going. The campsite was huge, with hundreds of sites, mobile homes, and brick building rooms. We were staying in a sort of tent shaped wooden room, which sat on a concrete block which housed many more. It was small but cosy and cute.

We did a walk of the site to get our bearings, checking out the large open air resturant, the small supermarket, and then eventually the road leading to the nearby beach. The biggest attraction for us with this campsite wasnt just the bargain nightly price, but it being 100 metres from what is described as a quality sandy beach with some bars and good swimming. The beach didn't dissapoint, and there were hundreds soaking up the rays on its beautiful soft sand, others making use of the many sunloungers available for hire, with the entire beach lined by what appeared to be a large bar and resturant complex.

It was late so we left it until the next day before we donned our beach wear and hit the sand, spending a quality day just reading our books and muching on the resturants meals.

All around us were Greeks, Italians, Spanish and the very occasional British or Irish, which demonstrated to us just how far out into the islands we were. Due to the nature of the flights most British and Irish island hoppers start from the mainland and it would take a considerable length of time to 'hop' this far, so many miss the undoubthed jewel in the crown that is Santorini. Whearas the mainland Europeans have much more choice, so it really did feel to us like we are travelling, which was nice to feel on a short trip.

After a chilled out day we returned to our room, ready for an equally chilled out nights rest, but sadly, it wasn't to be! For the second time on our travels, we were reminded of one of the major downfalls of campsites, and thats no solid brick walls to keep out noise, coupled with loud open air discos at the resorts excellent pool with bar.

To describe it as loud would be a total understatement, as it was loud to the point that, when it was aided by the wind taking it our way, we had to raise our voices to be able to hear each other. Sleep was not on the cards that night. At one point I decided to get up and walk to see if they had moved it right beside our accommodation, but it was just the wind catching and amplyfing the sounds from the pool bar. It was a good 5am by the time it let up, and we got some shut eye. I think the lesson learned here from us is that you shoud ask a reception what nights the music starts at these venues, and either get the earplugs in and get off early, or follow the old adage, if you cant beat them, join them, and get down the bar and boogie!

Our final days were spent repeating the process of chilled out beach days and nice meals and drinks at either the beach side bars or the hostels own facilities.

We also paid a visit to the harbour, just for a change of scene and resturants. It was enjoyable stay all and all although Ill repeat my often uttered statement that I am never camping again, and it was finally off to Santorini for a final few days before our flight home.

All and all Greece lived up to its expectations for us, with its stunning beaches, white churches with blue domed roofs and great seafood and sunshine. We would hearlity recommend island hopping to anyone, but I would definatly say to anyone considering it to seriously think about making Santorini your focal point, as many of the islands are similar to each other, but Santorini head and shoulders above the rest as a world wonder (http://www.hillmanwonders.com/) with the best examples of the typical 'Greek' views that draw travelers from all over the world. We have no regrets, so anyone thinking about it, go for it! Its probably cheaper these days too!